AFC North Notes: Browns, Ravens, Steelers

Browns

Browns S Andrew Sendejo‘s one-year, $2.25 million deal includes a signing bonus of $950,000, a guaranteed base salary of $1.05 million, and he can earn up to $250,000 in per-game active roster bonuses. (Aaron Wilson)

Ravens

Per the Athletic’s Mike Sando, the Ravens trade of TE Hayden Hurst to the Falcons for a second-round pick drew praise around the league: “Great move by Baltimore. Hurst was their third tight end and they got a second-round pick for him. Mark Andrews can’t block, either, but he is a much better receiver than Hurst.”

Steelers

When TE Eric Ebron signed with the Colts two years ago, joining an established quarterback like Andrew Luck was a major draw in choosing Indianapolis. After struggling through last season with Jacoby Brissett, Ebron’s excited to land with another established passer in Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger.

“I hope to be that safety blanket, that go-to, that loved tight end that everybody wants,” Ebron said via Teresa Varley of the team’s website. “That is all you hear. That Ben loves his tight end. It’s going to be pretty cool to see what we can do together. I have been texting him asking him as many questions as I can as early as I can. I want to pick his brain. If I can be his best friend and we can think the same, good things happen. That is really all I am trying to do.”

On paper, the Steelers have a big apparent need at inside linebacker after cutting Mark Barron to save cap space. 2019 first-round LB Devin Bush has one starting spot locked down but the other is up in the air. Veteran LB Vince Williams is still on the roster but he saw his snaps reduced almost by half as he became more of a situational player. Pittsburgh doesn’t have any other options who have played more than special teams, yet GM Kevin Colbert doesn’t seem worried.

“I am really comfortable with Vince Williams and really comfortable with Devin Bush,” Colbert said via the Athletic’s Mark Kaboly. “Could we add some more depth? Sure. Right now, we are kind of in a holding pattern to get a better feel for what is left on the free-agent market. We are halfway through our meetings, and we are getting a real good feel, as good a feel as we can, about this draft. A lot of times that draft information is influential with what you want to do in free agency. It will continue to evolve.”

Kaboly says free-agent LB Deone Bucannon, who plays a similar hybrid role to Barron, isn’t someone the Steelers are interested in now.

According to ESPN’s Field Yates, Roethlisberger($5 million) is due a deferred signing bonus payment by today, April 1.

Buzz in NFL circles continues to link the Steelers to QB Jameis Winston as an intriguing possibility, per an anonymous survey of NFL executives by the Athletic’s Mike Sando: “Mike Tomlin would do such a good job with him. Jameis fits the offense there, and I’m just a big fan of Mike’s leadership and think he handles young, talented players who might need help very well. He respects talent. If you put Jameis with Mike and he backed up there until Ben was finished, you might have something.”